7 Quick Takes Friday

1.

This is not going to be one of those posts where I say how sorry I am for not blogging much lately and promise to do better in the future. Don't worry, I'm not going to whine about how I haven't felt all that great and how busy we've been what with company and PTA meetings and conferences. Seriously, I'm not.

2.

It snowed most of the night last night, and it was the perfect time for it since the kids did not have school today. Last time it snowed, the ground would be covered every morning, but by the time they got home from school, it would be mostly gone. It's only 9:40 a.m., but so far they're calling today a great day.

3.

We had a great time with my mom, aunt, and niece here last week.





The kids partied, trick-or-treated, made a haunted house, baked mummy cookies.

There was only one thing missing:

4.

On the way home from taking everyone to the airport in Buffalo, Lauren and I made a stop at the mall. The wonderful, enormous, inviting, consumer-pleasing mall.

I must have looked like an idiot walking around with this big silly grin on my face, but let me tell you, it made me happy. It's amazing - and sad, I'm sure - how good it felt to suddenly have all the retail I could want right at my fingertips again.

Of course, I couldn't afford to actually purchase much of it, but just knowing it was right there with me was enough. It was like wrapping myself up in a big, cozy consumer quilt, pulling corners of Pottery Barn, Ann Taylor, Kirkland's, and Lord & Taylor around my shoulders all snug and secure.

I'm sure there's a therapy for this kind of thinking.

5.

Lauren loved it, too. As soon as we walked out of Lord & Taylor and she realized we were on the second floor, she started pleading to ride the "calculator" down to the first floor. I told her that we could indeed ride the escalator, and when she saw it she literally jumped up and down squealing with delight.

As we stepped onto it, I asked her if she was having a good time at the mall with just mommy. She looked up at me and said, "Mommy, this is so fun my pants aren't even irritating me anymore."

(She had cried for at least half an hour when I made her wear pants because she always wants to wear dresses. Apparently, a calculator ride is the cure.)

6.

It makes me sad to realize that she is my last baby. Last night as she was getting ready for bed, she asked where here "nightgowned" was. I love how she adds the "d" sound on the end and cannot bring myself to correct it. Once she stops mispronouncing words there will be no one left here to do it.

At least not in a way that is cute. I still have issues with metallurgy.

7.

Josh finished his newest picture at his art lesson this week:




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